Next year, Sister Cities International is heading to the mountains to host their 62nd annual conference in Aurora, Colorado August 2-4, 2018. Aurora has been an outstanding member of Sister Cities International and has formal sister cities agreements with four cities: Zielona Gora, Poland; Adama, Ethiopia; Jaco, Municipalidad de Garibaldi, Costa Rica and Seongnam City, South Korea, along with a friendship city relationship with Antiguo Cuscatlan, El Salvador.

Aurora is surrounded by the Rocky Mountains and boasts over 100 parks, more than 50 miles of trails, two reservoirs, and thousands of acres of open space. The city prides itself on its independent sustainability and environmental conservation supported by a thriving Agritourism industry that contributes significantly to Colorado’s economy. Aurora holds a weekly farmers market, a summer concert series, and has over 25 historic sites including breweries, stables, ranches, museums and the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater that each display the rich history of Colorado.

The cultures of Aurora’s sister cities can be found throughout the city in any of its 250 independently-operated ethnic restaurants, at historical sites, and within its population. Aurora is home to the largest majority-minority community in the United States and celebrates its diversity all year. Specifically, Aurora Sister Cities International hosts religious forums, talent nights, film festivals, youth summits and countless other events to share the culture and history of its sister cities with the community of Aurora. This year Aurora received the Sister Cities International Annual Award for Best Overall Program with a population between 300,001 and 500,000 in part for its successful campaign to open up an El Salvadoran consulate to serve more than 30,000 El Salvadoran nationals in the northwest United States.

Each year, Aurora sends delegations to its sister cities to build personal, economic, and educational relationships that strengthen bonds and improve communities. In April 2017, Aurora sent a successful trade mission to Seongnam City, South Korea. The visited culminated in the signing of a “Memorandum of Understanding” between the two cities, with a special focus on youth exchanges between Seongnam City and Aurora. In September, Aurora will send a delegation on a cultural, religious and historical tour of their sister city Adama, Ethiopia.

Steve Hogan, mayor of Aurora, hopes to keep the sister cities relationships of Aurora thriving for years to come. “If Aurora wants to become a global city, we must not only understand and engage our highly diverse local community, but we must also connect with international partners to exchange information, ideas and economic opportunity. No one is better positioned to create and nurture international partnerships than Aurora Sister Cities International.”

With its long-established sister cities relationships and its eagerness to continue creating valuable global connections, Aurora, is the perfect spot to hold the 62nd Sister Cities International annual conference. The conference events will take place at the Hyatt Regency Aurora Denver Conference Center. We can’t wait to see you there in 2018!

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As the world becomes smaller, and connections online become more frequent than face-to-face interactions, multicultural understanding at the community level is more important than ever. Sister Cities International enables citizen diplomats in communities across the world to develop relationships with communities in other countries that are based on cultural understanding and mutual cooperation.Donate